Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 1976)
Zainul Abedin (29 December 1914 – 28 May 1976) was a Bangladeshi painter born in Kishoregonj, East Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh). He became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings depicting some of the great famines in Bengal during its British colonial period. After the Partition of Indian subcontinent he moved to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1948, he helped to establish the Institute of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts) at University of Dhaka. The Indian Express has described him as a legendary Bangladeshi painter. Like many of his contemporaries, his paintings on the Bengal famine of 1943 are viewed as his most characteristic works. His homeland honored him with given the title "Shilpacharya" (Bengali: শিল্পাচার্য) "Great teacher of the arts" for his artistic and visionary attributes. He was the pioneer of the modern art movement that took place in Bangladesh and was rightly considered by Syed Manzoorul Islam as the founding father of Bangladeshi modern arts, soon after Bangladesh earned the status of an independent republic.